Dental floss is a mainstay of care for the teeth. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing twice a day and cleaning between the teeth with floss or interdental cleaners once each day to remove plaque from all tooth surfaces. Plaque is responsible for both tooth decay and gum disease. Floss helps remove food debris caught between teeth that may not be rinsed or brushed away.
However, when away from the home, the majority of individuals do not carry floss for dental care. Instead, to remove food debris from between the teeth, persons often use toothpicks which are ubiquitous in restaurants across the United States. However, while toothpicks are useful for the larger food debris, it is not very satisfactory for smaller food debris which may not even be felt. In addition, reaching between back teeth such as molars is very difficult with a toothpick. Thus, there is a need for a device to make floss as common as toothpicks for individual use.
United Kingdom GB 2289845 entitled “Toothpick Containing Dental Floss” which published on Dec. 6, 1995 filed by Lara provides a breakable toothpick containing dental floss.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,051 entitled “Flossing Kit” which issued on Aug. 15, 2000 to Neves shows a toothpick containing a supply of dental floss wrapped about one end. Neves leaves one end of said floss free.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,892 entitled “Oral Hygiene Device” which issued on Jan. 6, 1987 to Charatan discloses an oral hygiene device comprising a hollow housing (not a toothpick) containing dental floss which may be broken into two portions which serve as handles for manipulating the floss.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,661 entitled “Composite Oral Cleaning Device” which issued on Oct. 19, 1993 to Alonzo has an oral cleaning apparatus with one pointed tip and a spool or cleat region suitable for wrapping and holding a supply of dental floss. The floss is not attached to the device except for winding around said apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,728 entitled “Oral Hygiene Device” which issued on Aug. 1, 1989 to Court discloses a disposable single use packet having first and second members releasably attached to one another with a sanitary interior compartment containing floss.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,625 entitled “Disposable Buccal Hygenic Device” which issued on Sep. 13, 1983 to Sanders et al. shows floss contained within an interior cavity of a device.
German Patent No. DE 199 44 321 A1 to Rauschenberg discloses a two piece toothpick having floss wrapped around the exterior thereof which is separable. Rauschenberg attaches the floss by drilling holes in the toothpick to attach thereto.
There are a number of issues regarding the use of toothpicks themselves to provide floss for use in restaurants. First, as shown in the art cited below, most devices store the floss internally. Creating such a cavity in a standard toothpick, given the wood material used in toothpicks and the relatively small diameter thereof, would be extremely difficult. To store the floss externally results in problems with breakage of the toothpick to release said floss since the wood material of a standard toothpick tends to splinter when broken. Lastly, the attachment of floss via drilling holes in the standard toothpick causes an extra manufacturing step to make such a device workable. In addition, those holes tend to weaken the structure of the toothpick causing breakage. The present invention overcomes these issues.
None of the known prior art disclose the combination set forth herein.